A year-and-a-half ago I walked into the legendary Berlin nightclub on Belmont Street in Chicago for the first time in probably two decades. A bit of expansion, some needed touch-ups to the restrooms, but for the most part the place retained the charm the key value that made me a straight regular at . . . → Read More: The Waterboys – The Whole of the Moon, By Mitch Hurst

I suppose we humans like our numbers rounded. There’s a reason there’s no 49 dollar bill. But when it comes to age, it seems rather pointless to place emphasis on an event simply because it ends in a zero. But society has protocols with which we must comply, so I shall do my best . . . → Read More: On 50: A Partial Self-Obituary, By Mitch Hurst

I kinda got off the Springsteen bandwagon back around Born in the USA [with the exception of The Seeger Sessions]. The new record, Wrecking Ball, is pretty good. It has flashes of the old stuff, the soul that we heard on The River and even Greetings from Asbury Park. The production isn’t as stripped . . . → Read More: Bruce Springsteen – Wrecking Ball – Mini Review By Mitch Hurst

In the fall of 1983, a group of classmates from the Moody Bible Institute went to see The Resurrection Band play a live show at the Odeon, a suburban Chicago venue that often featured the latest in Christian contemporary bands.

In spring of 2001 I developed a ritual. On weekends when my wife, pregnant at the time, was traveling for work, I would sit on our terrace with a cigar and a glass of Knob Creek. The unobstructed skyline view of my adopted city of Chicago provided a more-than-suitable backdrop for pondering . . . → Read More: Mogwai, Family Dancing and Aging Musical Tastes, by Mitch Hurst

Conor O’Brien fronts [is, really] the Irish band Villagers. O’Brien is a contemplative sort, and his darkly lyrical songs reflect an inward focus, perhaps a healthy type of narcissism. If there is such a thing.

The folk band British Sea Power composed a soundtrack for the 1934 British film Man of Aran and performed it live during a showing of the film at the Edinburgh Film Festival in 2008. Thankfully, the band recorded the composition in its entirety. This clip captures what became an exquisite mashup.

From an album called “Learning” by Seattle singer/songwriter Mike Hedreas, aka Perfume Genius. From the limited information found online about Hedreas, it appears he wrote the album — hence the title — to come to terms with difficult issues from his past. There are times when listening to a record you can tell the . . . → Read More: Perfume Genius – Mr. Peterson, by Mitch Hurst